September Favourites

Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter
I posted some swatches of this yesterday so hopefully you can see why I'm so enamoured with this luscious lip butter. It's such a lovely neutral pink shade with total 'my lips but better' potential. These lip balms are so hydrating and feel amazing on the lips. They're just perfect for the Autumn/Winter seasons. Full review here.

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15
I love thick silicone-based primers for their ability to smooth over the skin and hide pores. But I started to find that they would drag and pill in combination with certain foundations. So they were making my base look slightly patchy rather than flawless. I decided to bite the bullet and shell out for this much loved but incredibly expensive primer and I'm so glad I did. It really is fantastic and is easily the best primer I've ever tried. It gives your makeup some serious staying power as well as minimising pores, smoothing the skin and adding a nice luminescence to your face. Full review here.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
In the height of my SPF-free foundation madness I splashed out £34.50 on Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk Foundation. I loved the coverage and glow it brings to the skin. It really is a gorgeous foundation and perfect for nights out. But as someone who likes to apply their makeup in the morning and then can't be bothered with touching up throughout the day, it just didn't last long enough on my skin. It always ended up going a bit patchy around my nose and forehead no matter which primer I used. So I kinda gave up on it and it had been sitting untouched on my table for months. Then I purchased the amazing Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and everything I disliked about the Armani foundation had been completely rectified. Of course, the primer kinda negates the whole no SPF thing but now that I use chemical exfoliants on my skin everyday, I do need constant sun protection. Anyway I think they're a perfect team and it's nice that I can actually use this rather pricey foundation again! (Ancient) full review here.

Benefit They're Real Mascara
I bought this a few months ago when my beloved Lancome Doll Eyes mascara finally dried up. I think it has to be one of the most hyped up mascaras ever so I had really big expectations of it. At first I wasn't too keen on it. This mascara certainly lengthens but it was lacking the volume that I crave. It definitely improves as the product dries up a bit but it still was never my first choice when it came to applying my mascara in the morning. However I think it looks really stunning when wearing false lashes. I always pop on another coat of mascara after applying false eyelashes to blend them in a bit more and this one really delivers some beautiful black voluminous lashes. So the name 'They're Real' might not be entirely true anymore but in combination with some nice falsies, this mascara is a dream.

La Roche-Posay Redermic R
My skincare routine, diet adjustments and supplementing must be working because I've not had a single new spot for almost a month now! Probably jinxed myself now though eh? But that's pretty amazing for someone who was getting at least one cropping up every day. My chin was the last place to clear up but it has been helped tremendously by this retinol cream. It has helped to heal up active breakouts, gotten rid of my cystic acne and has worked really well on my skin's personal nemesis - closed comedones. I prefer this over other spot treatments because it works so fantastically on scarring too. It also leaves my skin soft & smooth so if you have sensitive skin this is a great option for a retinol product. Full review here.

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Korres Lip Butters In Quince & Pomegranate

Korres Lip Butters In Quince & Pomegranate - £8

A few months ago I fell head over heels for the Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter. I think I'm a bit late to the Korres Lip Butter party but they are some of the loveliest lip balms I've tried. They're made from a combination of shea butter and rice wax. Each lip butter comes in a different tint and has a different scent. They are incredibly hydrating, have fantastic pigmentation and are really comfortable to wear. They have quite a thick texture but apply super smoothly and feel very light on the lips. They also give your lips the most amazing shine! Being the crazy lip product junkie that I am, I couldn't resist buying a couple more shades.




Quince is a sheer rose shade. It's quite similar to Wild Rose in it's colour intensity but this is more pink than red. This one feels really creamy on the lips. I really like the bright fuscia colour of this, it's perfect for when you want to wear a bright lip colour that's still not too in your face. I think this is a nice soft alternative to wearing a bright heavy lipstick. Quince adds a slight stain to your lips so it does last a few hours before you have to reapply. You can wear this really sheerly or build it up a bit like I have, it looks gorgeous either way.




Pomegranate is a sheer coral shade. It has a bit of orange to it when swatched but on my lips it becomes a really natural colour. It applies as a soft pink with a definite 'my lips but butter' quality to it. This is currently my go-to daytime lip product. It just adds a nice bit of oomph and shine to your lips without being too much. The colour of this isn't as long lasting as Quince or Wild Rose but it does fade really evenly and keeps your lips feeling moisturised long after it's rubbed off. So pretty!

If you're after kissably soft lips in a beautiful range colours I really recommend checking these out. I've been using these non-stop, I really do love them that much. Both of these shades feature as prizes in my 2000 followers giveaway so make sure you enter before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning them!

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May Favourites

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
As my skincare stash grows I sometimes forget about some of the things I really like. I hadn't used this serum for quite a few months but I dug it out of my drawers a couple of weeks ago and I don't know why I ever stopped using it. It is expensive but I've had this bottle for well over a year now and there's tons leftover. You only need a few drops each night anyway. Advanced Night Repair is intended to be an anti-aging product but I use it to soften my skin, even out my skintone and it also helps so much with my blemishes & scarring. Everyone needs to try this at some point in their lives!

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream
I'm not normally one for a sheer base product but as my closed comedones continue to disappear with the regular use of chemical exfoliants & facial oils I've not felt the need to smother my skin in so much foundation. This product was really surprising to me because the coverage is brilliant for such a sheer formula and the shade Very Light is actually light enough for my skin colour! I'll be giving this a full review soon but this is definitely my favourite base product at the moment.

Pukka Organic Castor Oil
I bought this because I'd heard that castor oil can help improve the growth rate of your eyebrows & eyelashes. I'd previously had a lot of success using Talika Lipocils when I used to overpluck my eyebrows & pull out my eyelashes (bad I know!) but I wanted to try something a bit cheaper this time. The growth isn't as noticeable as with the Talika product but it has helped with the thickness and overall condition of my eyebrows & eyelashes. As I researched this it was interesting to discover that castor oil has many uses. You can make something called a castor oil pack with it to reduce pains, scars and cysts within your body. Wish I'd known about this before I had to have half an ovary removed! I even used it to stop a stye in it's tracks so this is a really useful product to keep around the house.

Trilogy Organic Rosehip Oil
After falling back in love with the Clarins Lotus Oil last month I decided to try out the Trilogy Rosehip Oil. Embarrassingly it was actually a Daily Mail article which prompted me to buy it. Needless to say I love this oil too! After using it for a couple of weeks my scars have faded a lot already and my skin feels amazingly soft & hydrated. My face looks brighter the next morning after I use this and it balances out any redness. I haven't had as many spots crop up and it really helps with cystic ones under the skin. Using facial oils has dramatically reduced the amount of little bumps under my skin too. It doesn't smell as nice as the Clarins one but otherwise this oil is just as lovely.

Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter*
I love absolutely everything about this lip balm! The colour, the pigmentation, the staying power & the hydration levels are all immense. It gives your lips an incredible shine & makes them feel kissably soft. Really wish I'd tried these sooner!

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WIMH Discovery Kit: Welcome Back To Korres

Welcome Back To Korres Discovery Kit* - £15 (Worth £27)

I've got another one of the amazing Discovery Kits from What's In My Handbag for you today. As well as their Ole Henriksen kit I've been trying out their Welcome Back To Korres Kit. Again like Ole Henriksen, Korres are a brand who heavily promote the use of natural, botanical ingredients. The brand originates from Greece so they utilise the Greek flora in all of their products. The result is a wonderful range of skincare, haircare & makeup. I'm sure most people have heard of their lovely Lip Butters and this kit offers you the chance to try a full size one along with two shower gels, a serum, a moisturiser and a nail polish all for just £15.



The Wild Rose Brightening & Line Smoothing Serum is packed full of Vitamin C which really brightens your skin and helps to fade scarring. It's a very light yet hydrating serum that's great for both day and night as it doesn't have any stickiness to it. I only managed to get one application of out of the Wild Rose Moisturising & Brightening Cream sample but from what I could tell it's a very nice moisturiser which would be great for anyone with dry skin. Both of these products have a very pleasant light rose scent so they're lovely to use. I only wish the samples were a bit bigger so I could try them out properly.



These shower gels smell absolutely divine! The Basil Lemon one is my fave because it's super citrusy and invigorating. They make your skin smell really nice too. The only downside is that they do contain SLS which I find to be too harsh on my eczema-prone skin.





The Baby Pink Nail Colour is a lovely sheer milky pink shade. Fellows fans of Essie Fiji & Model's Own Utopia will love this one too. It took about three coats to stop it looking streaky but the finish is really nice - high-shine and very long lasting. It contains myrrh extract, oligoelements and provitamin b5 to help keep your nails strong which is always a bonus.







My favourite item from the kit by far is the Wild Rose Lip Butter. I've heard so much hype about Korres' Lip Butters but never tried one until now and they are incredible! I'm really fussy about lip balms but this one hydrates my lips so well, feels very light to wear and has great pigmentation. I love the deep berry stain of this Wild Rose shade. Both the balm and colour last so well, my lips still looked great even after eating my lunch. I really wish I'd bought one of these sooner! Let me know your favourite shades of these because I'm pretty sure I'll end up buying another.

This kit is well worth the money for the lip balm and nail polish alone, the other bits would be perfect for travelling with or taking to the gym. I don't know how I went so long without trying one of those Lip Butters though!

And don't forget you've got until May 31st to get 20% off any order over £10 at the What's In My Handbag shop with the code SPARKLY20.

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